Love and Heartbreak
by ShortAzn279
Summary: Kousei is a modest piano teacher giving lessons to others ranging from small children to adults. Tsubaki works at a coffeehouse and lives alone with her younger sister. How will their paths intersect? Read to find out.
1. I Wish You Were Here

"So, piano teacher, huh? Interesting. Do you have your own school?"

"Oh, yes actually. I teach about ten to fifteen students a week."

It was Valentine's Day. Normally there are two different types of people on this holiday. There are the couples and there are the singles. Right now I'm playing the role of in-between. Watari suggested I go online and see if I have any luck there. I was hesitant about it at first but figured that I had nothing to lose.

"Oh, that's a lot of students to teach every day. That's really impressive of you, Arima-kun."

The woman sitting in front of me was named Izumi Arakawa. Of course, I met her using the online dating site Watari showed me. She was the same age as me, twenty-four. She was also very pretty. She had long straight black hair and straight bangs. Her cerulean blue eyes showed me shy, polite, just as she had mentioned on her profile. She was also shorter than me; she reached my shoulder in full-height.

"Oh you can just call me Kousei, if you don't mind." I smiled politely. "Anyway, enough about me. So, your profile said that you're a pediatric nurse?" I pushed my lo mein around on my plate. I hoped she found this Chinese restaurant fancy enough. Her profile hadn't given any hints as to where she would typically go on a first date, so of course Watari suggested the venue as well.

"I'm actually still in school for my Bachelor's. I waitress at the big café in town while I'm not in school." Izumi had ordered a plate of sesame chicken and rice.

"Oh, so you must be a very busy person. How do you make time for dating?" I supposed I could deal with her schedule. She didn't seem to be entirely too busy. But that was more for later.

"I actually asked for today off so I could meet you here." Izumi seemed to blush as she said this, her pale complexion glowing in the chandelier lighting of the restaurant.

 _'You always start fancy! Women like that!'_ Watari's voice echoed in my mind as I drank my tea. Though I wasn't sure if he'd been entirely correct about that. He'd had to apologize to his girlfriend several times for assuming that all women expect dining fancy for the first date. Though according to him it had still been true. Just not when she was around. I sighed to myself. Izumi must have mistaken it for a sign of disappointment because she frowned.

"Does that not appeal to you, Kousei?"

"Oh, no! I'm sorry, it's just something a friend of mine said to me earlier today." I laughed nervously.

"Oh?" She seemed to light up once again. "Who is this friend of yours?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him. You probably wouldn't like him, anyways."

"Oh, okay," It was silent again for a few moments before Izumi spoke again. "Kousei, I was actually curious about something. . ."

"Oh, what is it?" I smiled. I was grateful for the start of a new topic. I'd been running out of things to talk about.

"…What was your previous relationship like? Er, I mean if you were in one, of course! I don't mean to assume, I'm sorry. . . I was just wondering what the girl had been like if you did have one…"

Before we both knew it, it was silent once again. I wasn't exactly sure how to answer her question. No. That was a lie. Of course I already knew the answer. But for some reason it was hard to get the words out. The silence was never ending but I just couldn't speak. It was as if my voice box had been ripped from my throat entirely.

 _'Kaori. . .'_

I looked down at my legs, at my fists as they'd been gripping the dinner napkin I'd placed there tightly. My knuckles were white. It had only been a few months. Six, nearly seven to be exact. So I suppose the wounds had still been fresh.

"Kousei…? I'm sorry if I—"

"She died." I said almost too harshly. Poor Izumi. I hadn't meant to direct it towards her. But to the tragedy itself. But I couldn't find the words to apologize. Tears started to fill my eyes. Damn.

The silence was almost deafening as we both sat there. Though to me, I wasn't hearing silence. I was struggling to hear the sound of her violin playing. Her beautiful sound had diminished with the wind the day she died.

"…Oh. I'm sorry for your loss."

I sighed before wiping my tears away with the cuff of my sleeve. I'd dressed nicely for the occasion, wearing a white button up shirt and black dress pants. Izumi had dressed nicely as well. She'd even gone out of her way to put on a long red dress with spaghetti straps and a pearl necklace. Great. Now I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"..May I ask what happened to her?" I could hear the strain in her voice.

I looked at her as she sat there across from me. I could see the pity in her eyes. It was as if I was looking at it through a magnifying glass. It was the only thing I could see on her now.

I smiled but it wasn't genuine. She was trying to save the rest of this already ruined date. Probably to uphold a reputation. Or maybe she really did care and was trying to help me out of the kindness of her heart. But it didn't matter which one it had been. I felt exhausted. As if some being from high up in the sky had suddenly dropped a total thousand pounds onto my shoulders and left them there for me to carry around for the rest of my life.

"Forgive me. . . but I think this should be over now. I will pay for the tab. Thank you, Izumi. It was nice to meet you."

After that I stood, pushing in my chair behind me, turning on my heel and leaving before another word could be said.

 _'Kaori. . . I wish you were here.'_

* * *

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of "Love and Heartbreak". I will continue to post as soon as I can so I hope that you will continue reading.^^

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the anime or manga itself.**

 _~ShortAzn_


	2. Colder Weather

"Oh, I hit another wrong note. I'm sorry, Sensei. . ."

"That's okay, Wataru. When you need to press both the F and C keys at the same time make sure you reach with your pinky. Stretch it as far as you can and reach for them as if you're trying to grab something important. Now try it again and keep giving it your best. I know you can do it." I pat the young boy on the head before he started to play the song again. The song I'd given him for his lesson was 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. Sure, it might seem to be an easy song to play on the piano, but Wataru was a boy with small hands. So this was a good song to stretch his hands with.

I stood there next to him as I listened to him play. As I listened I slowly got lost in my own thoughts. I remembered how it had been Kaori's idea for me to open this piano school. As soon as she'd seen this building open for sale she'd jumped at the quickest opportunity to tell me about it. She knew the piano was my passion. Just as she had been with the violin.

I felt my heart ache. _'Kaori. . . What am I doing here without you?'_

It'd actually been Kaori's idea to make the school for all ages. The building itself hadn't been entirely large but it had been big enough to fit one room where the students played, another for an office, then there were the restrooms and the supply closet. Hours were simple. I would teach each student for two hours each from Monday to Friday and my lunch break was at twelve and I closed at ten every night. Whenever a student didn't show I just took those hours and either asked if the next student wanted to come in early or went out and gave myself an early break.

It wasn't the greatest paying job but I was able to keep up with all of my bills and I had a true passion for it, so I didn't have a problem.

"Sensei?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Huh? Yes, Wataru? What is it?"

"Didn't you hear me say I finished? I finally finished the whole song without messing up!" Wataru smiled. He was ecstatic and I missed it.

I frowned before I quickly replaced it with a smile so that I wouldn't discourage the boy in any way. "Yes, you did. I'm proud of you Wataru."

I'd been getting distracted like that ever since Kaori's death. After her funeral I jumped back into work quickly so that I could only distract myself from the pain. I could only see that it hadn't been working out well. Even Watari had been worried about it as well. I couldn't blame him. The first few weeks back into it were probably the worst of my career. I would scare the students with my unexpected breakdowns and I would yell at them for senseless mistakes. I nearly considered taking a break myself until I slowly recovered to where I was now. I was better, yes. But the hurt was still there.

Kaori had been diagnosed with anemia when she was younger. She'd always seemed to have an iron deficiency but it wasn't discovered that she had actually had anemia until she was around fourteen. Though we both didn't think that her illness would get as badly as it had. In fact, I along with her parents and even the doctors thought that her condition had only been in the early stages and that she only needed to continue to eat the correct foods so that her body would gain more iron. There'd been no sign of it getting any worse than that.

However, that hadn't been the case.

Right after Kaori had graduated from college earning her Bachelor's degree, her condition had only worsened. Though her passion was the violin, her dream was to teach music to elementary school kids. But just before she could even start looking for jobs at the local schools, she'd started fainting and suddenly getting weak everywhere she went. Eventually it got to the point that she'd ultimately been unable to walk.

After that, Kaori had been admitted into the hospital several times. There was one time when she'd had to stay there for nearly an entire month. I watched as she pushed herself every day in physical therapy. She was determined to reach her goal of becoming a music teacher. She told me that she was going to marry me and have my children before she ever gave up hope of being better. It inspired me but at the same time it broke my heart having to watch her like that. Day by day went by and she only seemed to be getting worse rather than better. One by one everyone slowly began to lose their hope in her, starting with her doctors. Then it was acquaintances we knew. Then Watari. Even her parents. But I refused. I would never lose my faith in Kaori.

Finally, the day came when the doctors suggested she have surgery done. They would go in and give her a bone and marrow stem cell transplant. Kaori jumped at the opportunity. Everyone seemed to get a spark of hope once again that she would get better. I decided that would be the day. I had planned to propose to her once she'd gotten out of surgery and had recovered.

She never made it off the table.

After that. . . Well, you can guess what I felt.

"Hello? Arima-san? I'm here to pick up my Wataru," a woman had been standing at the door.

"Mama!" Wataru leaped from the bench and jumped into his mother's arms.

I couldn't help but adore the sight. It only made me wonder if Kaori would have been the same with her own children.

The woman then smiled to me as she'd noticed I'd been staring. "Thank you for teaching my Wataru the piano. Ever since his first lesson he's been so excited to come back and see you. It's probably been the happiest I've seen him ever since the day we got him a cat."

The woman's name was Mayumi Umeko. She'd been widowed when her husband had been in a car accident. He'd been driving home from work one night when it'd been raining heavily. He'd lost control of his car after his front wheel hit the shoulder and hit the other oncoming car head on. Both drivers died immediately.

That'd been at least seven years ago, just before Wataru had been born. Mayumi-san had told me all of this when Wataru first started coming here at five years old. I felt for her though at the same time I wondered how she had seemed to talk about her husband's passing so easily. I couldn't even talk about Kaori without breaking down.

I thought about asking her about it but I changed my mind once I saw her putting her son down and holding his hand.

"Goodbye Arima-san. We'll see you again tomorrow." Mayumi turned and waved as the door was pulled open in front of her.

Had my next student already been here? No, that wasn't right. It'd already been noon; it was time for my lunch break.

"Thank you, sir," Umeko-san smiled politely before walking out. I saw Watari step in right after her.

"Watari?"

"Yo." Watari came in and sat down on the bench facing the piano.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be out on a date with your girlfriend today?" I adjusted the glasses sitting on my face before I went and put the sheet music Wataru had been using back in his folder.

"About that. I came to pick you up. We wanted to take you out while you're on your break. And you told me yesterday that two of your students cancelled on you for today, so Kumiko and I wanted to steal you for the day."

"Huh?" I looked at him as if he was crazy. I hadn't seen Watari much ever since he had started dating his girlfriend and I didn't really know Kumiko so I didn't really feel like hanging around to be the third-wheel.

"No thanks, I think I'll pass. I'm—"

"Too busy with sheet music. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, sure. But you can be busy later. For now, you're taking a break." Watari stood and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and practically dragged me out of the building.

* * *

"So, how did your date go, Kousei?" Kumiko sat across from me. We'd stopped by an ice cream shop after Watari kidnapped me.

I looked at her and frowned. "Eh, I'm afraid I may have scared her off." Hopefully they bought that one. I pushed my vanilla ice cream around in my bowl.

Kumiko was pretty. She had shoulder-length chestnut brown hair and her eyes were gray. She seemed good for Watari. She kept him in his place when needed. They'd been together almost a year now.

"What? Even after all that preparation? What happened, Kousei? My plan was one-hundred percent fool proof! I even double checked!" Watari exclaimed from where he sat beside me at the round table.

"Idiot! Don't be so mean!" Kumiko hit Watari against the back of his head.

"Ow! Kumiko-chan! What was that for?!"

"Jeez! You're always saying something stupid! What if you end up hurting Kousei's feelings one day?!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the scene before me. Suddenly they both stopped bickering and looked at me.

"Why are you laughing, Kousei?" Kumiko asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. It's nothing. Anyway, I don't think I'll be seeing Izumi again anytime soon."

Kumiko frowned. "I see. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you."

"No, don't be. I believe it was meant to be that way anyway. I'm sure someone as pretty and nice as her will find someone better than me anyway." I shrugged.

"Ah, don't be such a downer Kousei!" Watari hit me on the back. "I swear to you. I'll find you someone new to have dinner with!"

"No thanks. I think I'd prefer to not have to go through something like that again."

"What happened, anyway? What did you say to her that would have made her actually run away?" Watari sat back in his chair and went back to eating his chocolate ice cream.

"It wasn't that. . . I mean, she didn't really run away." I didn't want to tell them the real reason. I didn't want to ruin their day.

"Then what happened, Kousei?" Kumiko asked. She seemed to be even more concerned than Watari was. Then again I guess that's just how females were sometimes.

"Nothing. Can we go now?"

They seemed to share a glance with each other before they nodded. "Come on, I wanted to go to the park today Watari."

I followed behind them as we left the little ice cream shop.

* * *

I was shivering as it was suddenly very cold. Winter had still been in the process of saying goodbye and I hadn't thought of bringing a scarf. Not only that but I had lost Kumiko and Watari. So now I was sitting here at the big fountain in the middle of the park waiting for them.

"Jeez. . . did they have to walk without me? It was like I wasn't even there!" Though I couldn't blame them. They were in love. But that didn't tell me why I was sitting here waiting for them.

Before I knew it there was someone standing in front of me. A woman, at that.

"Here," she smiled as she handed me a mahogany red scarf.

It was all I could do to stare at her in shock. Who was this lady?

"Well are you going to take it or not? I had an extra and saw you were cold so I decided to be nice. I'm Tsubaki, by the way. Tsubaki Sawabe."

I was still staring. Finally, she felt impatient enough to put the scarf around my neck herself. "Jeez, you don't even know how to accept a gift…"

I blinked. "Oh, sorry. Thank you…"

"Well?" Tsubaki put her hands on her hips, huffing out a breath of cold air.

"'Well'?" I was still confused. All I knew was that this weird lady had come to me giving me her scarf.

"Huh?! No manners, either? Tell me your name in exchange for the scarf!"

"Oh, sorry! I'm Arima Kousei. But you can call me Kousei." I took a closer look at this girl, adjusting my glasses. Her short and wavy chestnut brown hair was shining from the sunlight. Her almond brown eyes were sort of glaring at me and her cheeks were flustered but I wasn't sure if it'd been from the cold weather or something else.

"'Arima Kousei'. 'Kousei'. I see," she sat down beside me on the stone bench.

Looking around, her and I were really the only people sitting outside right now. I looked at her and saw that she was shivering. I stood. "Come on. It's too cold out here. Let's go find somewhere to be warmer."

She looked at me like I'd suddenly grown a third eye or something. "Huh? What makes you think I'm going with you?"

"Well you wanted to talk to me about something, didn't you?"

For a moment I could have sworn I saw her blush before she pulled her blue scarf higher to cover her face. "Um… never mind! Bye!" Next thing I knew she was gone. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Tsubaki, huh?"

* * *

Hello!~ I hope you have enjoyed reading this second chapter of "Love and Heartbreak". Chapters will come as soon as they are written!~^^

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the manga or anime itself.**


	3. I Don't Need Love

"See? Now was that so hard?"

"Jeez, shut up Kashiwagi!" I could still feel my face burning from behind my scarf. "That was completely weird."

 _"It's too cold out here. Let's go find somewhere to be warmer."_ Jeez, what was with him? 'Let's go find somewhere to be warmer'? That sounded a lot like he was flirting with me. Though with the way he acted, it didn't seem like he was the type of person to flirt shamelessly.

"Aw but it looks like you made his day! He'll probably never forget you. You should be happy about that."

"It was your idea for me to go up and give him the scarf in the first place. . !"

"Yes but you pointed out that you thought he was cute so I was only helping you, Tsu-bak-i~"

"Jeez!" I huffed knowing I was flustered. Kashiwagi knew just how to tease me.

"You think you'll see him again?" she was more serious this time.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe if it's "meant to be"." I said sarcastically.

"Joke all you want but you know I could be right." Another cold breeze blew by. "Whew, it's really cold out here. Well, this is my stop. Thanks for coming with me today, Tsubaki."

"Oh, it was no problem. Good luck on your date tonight!" I waved at her as she went into her apartment. Turning, I headed towards the subway to head home myself.

* * *

"I'm home!"

"Oh, you're back. Did Kashiwagi find a dress?"

I slipped my shoes off and hung my coat on the coat rack beside the door before looking behind me to find my younger sister standing behind me drinking something from a mug. Probably hot chocolate.

"Oh yeah. Got it for a steal, too. How was school?"

"Ah, same old same old," Takeda Sawabe is my kid sister even though she's not much of a kid anymore. She's in her last year of junior high school. Her hair is short like mine but straight and her eyes are darker than mine.

I sighed. _'Arima Kousei. Kousei.'_

"Huh? Onee-chan.. are you blushing?" Takeda came over to me and peeked over my shoulder to look at my face. "Oh, you are! What happened? Did you meet a guy? Ooh, what's his name? How old is he? Is he cute?"

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't assume things, jeez. . ." Even as I tried to deny it I could still feel my face burning. "And besides, I don't plan on dating anyone for a while." I went to the kitchen and filled myself a glass of water.

"Oh come on, sis! Yeah, right! You never know, maybe this guy is the one!"

"There is no guy, and trust me. I think I'll be okay on my own. I could do without another episode of what happened with Aaren."

Aaren Abbot was my American ex-boyfriend. We had a good relationship for a solid three years. He was the perfect boyfriend, he never let me go a day without making sure I knew that he loved me. He would shower me with gifts and take me out for dinner to dozens of fancy restaurants whenever he got the chance. I was in love. At least, I thought I was. Don't get me wrong, Aaren was an amazing person, but of course all good things must come to an end. He's a marketing consultant and so his job requires a lot of travel. He'd been assigned here in Tokyo for only two years, but then came the time for him to go back to New York City in America where he lives. Of course the idea was brought up for me to go and move back with him, but Takeda is only fourteen. I still had to take care of her. It was my responsibility as her older sister and I wasn't willing to leave her in anyone else's hands. And the idea to bring her with me wasn't an option that I had been very fond of. Takeda's entire life had been spent here in Tokyo. Unless it was a situation that there weren't any options, I didn't want to take that away from her. That last year we tried to make it work with video chats and monthly visits, but eventually life got in the way and we both realized that the spark was no longer there.

It was too bad. Aaren was definitely an eligible bachelor. He was tall, blond and handsome. His blue eyes are what made me fall head over heels for him in the first place. Hell, they would probably make any single girl just getting into the world stop just to get a glance of him.

Not only that but he was rich, hence the endless gifts and countless expensive dinners. Though could you blame me for not wanting to have a repeat? Yes, it had been a mutual decision for us to break up but that didn't mean that there hadn't been any pain. I just didn't want to face anymore heartbreak.

"Oh please, don't fool yourself. I mean, is it really worth it to put your love life on hold right now? What if you end up living alone with a house full of cats?"

"That won't happen. Besides, I have you don't I?" I finished my water and put my glass in the sink.

Takeda laughed. "Maybe for now until I graduate high school but after that you're on your own."

"Yeah, yeah okay." I retreated to my room. I was exhausted. Kashiwagi dragged me all over town today looking for her dress for her date later tonight. Her boyfriend was taking her out to dinner at this fancy new Chinese restaurant in town and she was worried she didn't have the right dress to wear. Despite my doubts of the restaurant being that fancy, Kashiwagi wasn't backing down. She was my best friend, I couldn't say no. It would break her heart.

Nao Kashiwagi and I met when we played softball together in junior high and from that we became best friends. After junior high we went to high school and college together. Nao went on to be a daycare teacher and I work at the big café in town everyone comes to. Being a barista wasn't that bad. It required energy which I knew I had plenty of and it was fun to talk to the customers. As for Nao, she didn't show it much but she actually had a nice and caring side and she loved children so her job had been perfect for her.

I've called her by her last name for as long as I could remember. Nao was a good person. She's been there for me every time I had a problem and vice versa. I couldn't remember the last time she let me mope around about something. Whenever it came to Aaren after we split up she would always tell me to move on, but she was supportive about it.

I sighed, laying down on my bed. There'd even been times when Kashiwagi had forced me to do things that I wasn't really comfortable with, like giving a scarf to Kousei earlier.

I turned on my side. In a way I felt stupid for doing what I did but every time I thought about it, I couldn't help but blush and smile. The fact that we might never meet again didn't matter to me. That brief moment had given me a happiness I hadn't felt ever since I was with Aaren.

I yawned. I needed a nap after how tiring my day had been. I closed my eyes and before I knew it I'd fallen asleep.

* * *

After a day of work at the café I was heading up the stairs when I saw Takeda standing outside of our apartment waiting for me. She was still in her school uniform. "Oh good, you're back. I want you to come with me to my piano lesson today."

"Huh? Why? I've got nothing to do there." I was about to put my key in the door when she stopped me.

"Please, Tsubaki? It would make me really happy!" she convinced.

I sighed. I had already been planning to sit in front of the tv and eat ice cream all day. And that was far more appealing than sitting there listening to nothing but the piano for two hours. "I think I'll just stay here; you go on ahead."

"Please, Tsubaki? I'll do anything you want!"

I gave in. "Fine, fine. I'll think of something for you to do for me after. Come on."

"Awesome, you're the best Tsubaki!"

* * *

The piano school wasn't far from home. It was just around the corner to be exact. I was already bored the moment we reached the school. I should have brought a magazine or something with me.

As soon as I opened the door I heard the sound of a piano playing Pachelbel's Canon. I recognized it because it would play in the café every now and then.

I headed to the entrance of the piano room and when I reached it I stopped walking. I felt my heartbeat speed up all of a sudden and I could feel the blood rushing to my face.

 _'Arima Kousei. Kousei.'_

* * *

Bonjour mesdames et messieurs~ Hope you enjoyed~ I'm having fun writing this story and loving the fact that I can just basically spill my words onto paper and voila, there's another chapter. :D

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the anime or manga itself.**

 _~ShortAzn_


	4. A Friendly Smile Can Go A Long Way

I've heard the song thousands of times before. Some days it would play at the café on repeat. But this time. . . it was different. The sound was inexplainably beautiful. Even more so than when I hear at the café. But I could swear, that the next thing I saw was a world full of color and him sitting right there in the middle of it all, playing the piano. Everything else had disappeared entirely as he poured his heart out in song.

 _'Wow. . .'_

"Sawabe-san?"

The world of color disappeared and I was back in the piano room. Kousei was standing now and Takeda was placing her sheet music on the piano. Before I knew it Kousei was coming my way. For some reason I stood up straight and cleared my throat. I could feel my face burning. "Oh, hi, Ari— I mean, Kousei. . ." I looked at him and saw he'd been dressed nicely in a light blue button-up shirt and brown khaki pants. He adjusted the black-framed glasses sitting on his face.

"What are you doing here? Did you want to sign up for classes?"

I almost couldn't believe how calm he'd sounded. As if it'd been no surprise at all to him that I'd been there coincidentally. "Oh, no, I'm here with my sister today.."

"Oh, Sawabe-chan is your younger sister? You two do look alike," Kousei chuckled.

"Sensei, are we beginning soon? I want to show my sister how good I can play!" Takeda was sitting at the piano looking back at us both.

"Oh, yes. One moment, Sawabe-chan." Kousei looked back to me and smiled again though it seemed almost. . formally polite. Automatic. "You may take a seat anywhere you'd like, Sawabe-san." He turned and started walking back to Takeda.

"'Tsubaki.'"

Kousei stopped and looked back at me. "Huh?"

"You can call me 'Tsubaki'." I averted my eyes from him, feeling awkward as I stood there.

It was quiet before he spoke again. Had I been too forward?

"Okay."

I looked up expecting to see him appear confused or annoyed even, but instead I saw him smiling at me again. This time it was friendly.

I smiled in return, my heart jumping in my chest. "..Okay."

* * *

Time seemed to pass by so quickly and before I knew it the lesson was already almost over. Despite the fact that Kousei and I had met again I had absolutely no idea what to do with the opportunity. I'd been sitting there on the couch in the room for the past two hours thinking of what I could say to him with no luck. I sighed. I wished Kashiwagi was here to give me advice.

 _'Wait a minute, Tsubaki. Why are you even thinking this way? You don't even want to date right now!'_ I groaned, leaning over and hiding my face in my legs. I was so confused. Just the sight of Kousei was enough to throw me off balance.

"Tsubaki?" I looked up when I heard my sister call my name.

"Yes?"

"A friend just texted me and said she wanted to meet me for lunch. I'll see you at home. Bye!"

"Huh? Wait, Takeda—" Before I knew it my sister was already gone. I sighed. I couldn't believe that girl sometimes.

"She's quite spirited, no?"

I jumped, having forgotten Kousei was still there in the room with me. I blushed faintly before forcing it away quickly. "I suppose, but is it really okay for her to leave so early like that? There were thirty minutes left in the lesson, right?"

I watched as Kousei put Takeda's sheet music away in her file. "I told her it was okay for today. She can already play half the song perfectly and it isn't very easy to learn, trust me."

"..Oh." I smiled softly. My parents had started taking Takeda to lessons ever since she was able to write and even then she seemed like a professional. I could swear she was a child prodigy that had yet to be discovered. After our parents died I took up the responsibility to encourage Takeda to continue taking classes. When they died she was old enough to acknowledge the fact that she'd lost people who were supposed to leave the biggest impression on her. It hadn't affected her playing much but her personality did take a slight turn. I remembered her being this bright and bubbly child with the greatest spirit I'd ever seen, but after our parents' deaths her behavior would seem almost forced. At times she would even sound lost. As if she was missing something. Which of course she was. I would try to talk to her about it at times but I would never know what to say to her. I wondered if I could live up to be the impression my parents would have been.

"She's really good at the piano. Does she plan on entering any piano competitions?" Kousei sat down at the piano.

"Huh? You don't know about that? But you're her teacher,"

Kousei smiled. "I encourage my students to take advantage of their talent. But I don't tend to make their talent a big responsibility if it's not something they want to do with their future."

"I see." Wow. I could admire him for his views.

"You should be surprised with how many students I've had who weren't passionate about the piano. Some parents even consider bringing their children to lessons simply to teach them discipline. It's a bit of a shame, really. But what can you do, I suppose. I mean in the end my goal is to teach my students that the piano can be fun without always being serious."

"You seem to be really passionate about the piano. When did you start playing yourself?"

"I was about the same age as most of my primary school students. Younger, maybe." Kousei ran his fingers across the keys of the piano lightly. Whenever he was near the piano it always seemed like the two were connected by soul. There would never be one without the other. I wondered what had made him so connected to the piano.

"Oh, so young. Did you want to play?"

Kousei seemed to look at the keys with a sort of pain yet unconditional love in his eyes. I wondered if my question had been too personal. "You could say that."

"What do you mean?" I was scared I was digging too deep into his personal life, but I wasn't going to stop now unless he preferred it that way.

He paused before answering again. "You know how you do things for others?"

I thought back to when Aaren left Tokyo. How I stayed home to take care of Takeda. How I made it my responsibility to encourage her to keep playing the piano. I nodded.

Kousei stood and went to the window. "It was kind of like that for me at first. I was playing for someone else, to make them proud of me. But after a long time I learned that in the end, it was my own feelings being translated through the piano. That it all wasn't simply notes being played through. The person who showed me that inspired me to keep playing."

As someone who didn't play the piano, I couldn't exactly picture what he'd been talking about. But still, I could put it into perspective. If I was doing something as time consuming as playing the piano whether it be playing a sport or painting, even, I'd want to put all my own feelings and thoughts into it. If I had only been doing it at the obligation of others, I'd think that there wouldn't really be a point to it, in the end. Looking at Kousei there in front of me, I could see that he was a huge jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put together. "I see."

"Anyway," I watched him disappear into his office for a moment before returning. The mahogany scarf I'd given to him the other day was in his hands. "luckily we saw each other again by chance. I wouldn't have known where to look for you otherwise to return this. Thank you, Tsubaki."

I stared at the scarf in his hands before taking it from him. "..It was no problem." I cracked a smile. "It must have sucked to be out in the cold, huh? What were you doing there, anyway?"

"Waiting for an idiot friend of mine," he chuckled. "I was dragged out of work yesterday and only ended up being the third wheel."

"Agh, that sucks. I'm sorry about that."

Kousei sat next to me on the couch. "Well, what can you do, right?"

"Right, right."

The room was filled with an awkward silence before Kousei spoke again. "Well, my next student should be arriving soon."

I took it as my cue to leave. "Oh, right, um, I guess I'll be going now." I stood from the couch and started heading to the foyer.

"Right, I'll see you later, I guess."

"I'll see you later, Kousei." I was about to walk out.

"Tsubaki?"

"Yeah?" I turned and looked at him.

"..It was nice to see you again," he smiled to me.

I felt my heartbeat speed up just a bit. I stepped over to him and placed the red scarf back in his hands as he stared at me with slight confusion, holding his hands in mine. I smiled. "..Same to you." I released his hands before turning and walking away before looking back and waving.

I left the building smiling like a complete idiot.

* * *

Bonjour~! I am sincerely sorry for the delay for this chapter to be posted. I am currently busy with keeping up with school and studying but I am keeping hard at work to continue posting! I thank anyone who has read my story and is enjoying it, and I hope that soon there will be a lot of people who will have seen and read "Love and Heartbreak"^^

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the anime or manga itself.**

 _~ShortAzn_


	5. Maybe I'll Give It A Try

"You have a good day too, ma'am. Enjoy your coffee!"

I'd been on shift for about eight hours now here at the café and it was only twelve o'clock. I stretched before looking at the monitor that hung up in the upper corner of the café behind the counter.

Saturday lunch was the busiest time of day here in Tokyo. Nearly everyone was on their lunch break and rushing to get back to work while there were others who wanted to dine in on a Saturday afternoon. Students especially decided that coming to a café would be such a nice thing to do on their lunch break.

I looked to the main floor of the café. Every table was taken along with every chair—some even being pulled to other tables. Even the outside patio was packed. Ugh. Some people needed to find some new places to go. Though I doubted there were many other places who weren't just as packed as we were. I loved the energy the café had, to chat with the customers as they ordered, but during times like these when everyone was in a rush, there were no easygoing chats. Most people were especially cranky. Those were the people you didn't want to keep waiting. I think there'd been a few times when customers had even gotten angry at me for taking too long. I had the energy for the job, but sometimes orders begin to pile up and even then no one can really keep up without trouble.

"Order for table five!" I called out placing yet another plate for the dining area on the counter. I stretched before yawning tiredly. I was tired of this and longing for three o'clock to come around from its hideout.

"Thanks, Tsubaki. Are you surviving Saturday rush so far?" My co-worker Cho brought the plate to the table nearby before coming back to me at the counter.

I sighed. "Just about. Some people are beginning to make me rethink my job." I started to brew two cups of coffee—one for a customer in the drive-thru and the other for myself. At least this job had some perks. Employees were allowed up to two drinks free during shifts. It was too bad this was already my second cup.

"I sure hope I'm not one of them," Cho joked as he ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair before he saw me roll my eyes. "Aw come on, Tsubaki! Just think, only one hour left. That's sixty more minutes you have to endure. You got this. Besides, I got you this job. It'd be a real shame if you left too soon," he flashed me a playful grin.

I rolled my eyes again, sipping at my coffee. "Only after you begged me to help you talk to Emi. I'm still surprised that she agreed to go on a date with you." I grinned as I teased him, noticing as Cho blushed faintly at my remark.

Cho and I were pretty good friends. I met him in college our last year when we were lab partners. He wasn't a tall guy but he wasn't all that small, either. He had the face of a young adolescent, most mistaking him for no more than that when he'd actually been my age; twenty-three. His shaggy brown hair and baby blue eyes didn't really help his case, nor was his personality any support for him either. I just happened to be a few months older than him and with his personality the way it was I liked to take advantage of it every now and then and treat him like the little brother I never had.

"How did that date go anyway?" I took another sip of my coffee. "She wasn't freaked out by the fact that you just happen to look and sound like a young boy was she?" I teased.

"It went just fine, thank you." Cho huffed.

I laughed before turning to grab another plate that was handed to me from another employee working with me behind the counter, placing it down on the counter in front of Cho. "Get back to work, kid."

I laughed as he took the plate and went back to the main floor flustered.

* * *

After working for a few more hours I heard the bell jingle again. I was relieved; my shift was finally over.

"Izumi-chan! You're finally here!" I smiled.

Izumi walked towards the counter and pulled her olive green parka coat off, the temperature inside the café a happy medium versus the cold weather outside. I saw as she smiled at me but it seemed off. Then again, Izumi was always a bit of a quiet person so that may have been normal with her.

"Good afternoon, Tsubaki-san. It sure is quite busy today, isn't it?" She placed her coat and purse in the back before coming back to join me behind the counter.

"Oh, yes! That's why I'm so happy to see you!" I laughed, part of me joking when the other half had been crying literal tears of joy that I could finally leave.

Izumi laughed softly before she clocked in her timecard. "Well, I am glad I was able to make you happy, Tsubaki-san." She pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail. She was wearing the café uniform; a white button-up blouse and a black skirt. She'd also had on a pair of long black socks that reached mid-thigh as she wore her black flats.

I didn't really know Izumi well. I only met her when I started working here at the café a few years ago, but I never really made it a point to get to know her more than what was mentioned at work. I laughed with her again before I took my timecard and clocked out. I grabbed my own coat and purse and was about to leave just as curiosity hit me.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did your date go last Thursday, Izumi?"

She'd been pouring some coffee grounds into the coffee machine when she stopped suddenly for a moment before starting the motion once again. "I'm afraid it wasn't the best of dates." She didn't seem to want to go any further into detail than that.

I frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry about that." It was genuine. I felt bad for the girl. She was a nice person. Whoever it was who had let her go had really lost someone as nice as her.

Izumi shrugged, not turning to look at me as she moved to start an order that had popped up on the monitor. "It's okay. I'll not worry about it and keep trying. That is the better thing to do. After all, I have plenty of time, yes?"

"Right." I nodded and smiled. I turned to leave before I heard her call my name.

"Tsubaki, are you dating anyone as of right now?"

It was a weird question, not to mention sudden. Though I shook it off, deciding not to think too much about it. "No, I'm actually single right now. Why do you ask?"

She smiled at me. "Maybe you should give it a try. It's actually fun after a little while, getting to meet new people."

I blinked. Had she really just said I needed a boyfriend? Or had I heard wrong? "Um. . ."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude. What I meant to say is that it is quite entertaining, is all."

I nodded slowly. "..Okay. Right. Well, I should be going now. Bye, Izumi-chan." I waved to her, making my way out from behind the counter and waving to Cho too as I left.

* * *

Later that night after I did some cleaning around the apartment and cooked dinner. I had nothing more to do afterwards so I was laying there on the couch, some ridiculous soap opera playing on the tv in front of me when I started thinking about what Izumi had said to me earlier that afternoon. I couldn't stop thinking about what she said. I didn't wanted to join a dating site. For one I was way too shy to ever set up any dates on my own. But maybe Takeda was right. I didn't exactly want to end up all alone with a house full of cats.

I sat up, heaving a sigh and brushing the bangs from my face. It wasn't like I would be getting anywhere with Kousei anytime soon, anyway. I wasn't going to just crash his piano classes every day and to be completely honest it didn't seem like he ever got out much, so I doubted I would ever see him around anytime soon. And that was assuming he didn't already have a girlfriend.

 _'I guess it won't hurt to at least try. . . .'_ I got up and went to my room, sitting down at my desk.

I stared at the screen after it had fully loaded up onto my laptop. Match Me. Huh. Well, it seemed like a legit enough site. I sighed. Just what was I getting myself into? What if a bunch of random men started messaging me? Creeps, especially?

"Oh come on, Tsubaki. Don't be so weird." I groaned, resting my forehead against the keys of my laptop.

"Don't be so weird about what?"

I jumped in my chair and turned, seeing that Takeda poking her head in my door. "Uh, nothing—"

"Ooh, 'Match Me'? What's this? Are you actually regretting your lack of a love life?" Takeda walked over to where I was at my desk and peered at the screen. "Aw, come on sis! You haven't even started making a profile, yet! Ugh, let me see this." She pulled my laptop over to face her and started to type away. Every time I tried to look over she would pull away. After trying to get a glimpse a few good times I finally gave up before she actually finished a few moments later. "And . . . done! Ta-da!" Takeda pushed the laptop back over to me.

I'd actually been curious about what she put. Reading through the profile I felt surprised. I couldn't believe it. It had actually been a pretty decent profile. There was my name, a good photo of myself from a fireworks festival two years ago dressed in a blue yukata, then there were my likes and interests and a short little description of myself, which had actually been all correct. Maybe I needed to pay attention to my sister a bit more. "Sugoi, Takeda. . ."

"Eh, I've had a little experience here and there with hooking people up. It's no big deal." She pretended to brush dirt from her hands.

I raised an eyebrow to her. "I don't think I wanna know."

"Anyway, aren't you going to browse through the merchandise?"

I shut my laptop. "Nope."

"Ehh?! Why not?! I did all that work for a reason, you know!" she had her hands on her hips.

In all honesty, I still wasn't sure about how I felt about this whole thing, and I think I preferred this to be as far as Takeda be involved with it. I stood from my chair and put my hands on her shoulders, turning her and pushing her out the door. "I know, I know. But I'm done for now. I think I'd rather watch a movie right now. What do you say? We can go see that sappy romance movie you've been wanting to see lately."

"'Me Before You' is NOT sappy! It's emotional!"

"Right." I pushed her out from my room the rest of the way, relieved that I'd been able to take her mind off my love life for now. I could swear my sister was the nosiest person I knew whenever it came to someone's romantic life.

* * *

 **Kousei**

I stepped into my dark apartment, sighing as I dropped my keys on the coffee table before falling onto the couch. It had been another regular long day at work. That was all it'd been. Simply regular. I was beginning to think I needed to change something. Maybe I had too many hours set up at the school. Then again, what else was there for me to do? The outside world wasn't exactly entertaining when you were alone.

I stretched my body, catching a glimpse of Kaori's photo on the coffee table. I grabbed it to look at it better. Could I do this without her by my side? Live life and somehow find happiness? I stroked the glass of the frame, where her smiling face was. Inside was a photo of her taken after she'd won first place in a violin competition just after we graduated high school. She was in a bright white dress that allowed her own features to make it beautiful, hugging her smooth curves perfectly. Kaori was beautiful; she'd always been. Though her personality could leave the worst first impression depending on what part of her behavior you saw first. She had this edge. This spark that would just leave you coming back for more. How I missed the fire of excitement in her eyes whenever she finished playing a song. How she could make a life reference based on the violin and easily make you think over your life with one song. How bright she had seemed whenever she was on stage, changing the lives of those around her in just under the course of five minutes. Hell, I missed everything about her. But there was a time to move on. I just didn't know when that was for me.

Sitting up I placed the frame back on the table. I needed to do something. Anything to get my mind away from my thoughts. I got up and moved to the kitchen, switching the lights on and pulling out a pot from underneath my stove. A nice, hot bowl of soup sounded nice right now. I remembered how Kaori would make me a bowl whenever I felt exhausted and needed a pick-me-up.

I stood there after I set the pot down on the stove, staring at it. I sighed. I tried to remember why I'd been trying online dating when all I could seem to do was reminisce about the past every five seconds. Maybe I needed to take a break from it instead. I couldn't just allow myself to get someone else's hopes up when I couldn't share the excitement.

Just then, as if someone had been listening in on my thoughts, I heard my phone chime from my back pocket. I'd been mildly surprised. Who would be talking to me this late at night? Well, it was only late evening, but still.

I pulled my phone out and looked at the screen as it lit up. ' **Message from: Watari** ' it read. I sighed. What did he want this time? I opened the message before sighing again, groaning this time.

' _Hey! You might not want to do this but you'll thank me for this, I'm sure! Tomorrow at three head over to the park and wait for me at the main fountain! And I know it's your day off tomorrow so you better not stand me up! Dress warm, I heard it'll be cold tomorrow! I'll see you there! –Watari'_

I grumbled to myself before shoving my phone back in my pocket. Watari really knew how to get to me. Though I didn't hate him for it. I couldn't. There were certainly times when that could be a good thing, that he could get to me so easily. Yes, surprisingly there was more to the guy other than a man in his mid-twenties who still liked to think like a middle schooler hitting puberty.

I sighed. I guessed if he'd been this excited about something to text me about it this late that I couldn't leave him hanging. I'd go and see what my idiot friend wanted.

* * *

Well, me being me, I didn't copy and paste this ending paragraph to all you guys before editing the chapter. ^^" Ah well, this will just have to do. So yes, it has indeed been a couple months since graduating high school, and yes, I admit, I haven't worked on any chapters ever since this chapter was last posted up in February. Stupid writer's block. XP Anyway, I had the idea to look at my chapters tonight and I have a bit of a feeling that maybe I can get back to it. Like Confucius said, "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." Erm, well.. I may taken a little break.. But I haven't stopped completely. At least, I'd like to think so. ^^ So I'm going to try and continue this story for you guys because I really like it myself and every time I read over it, I feel like I'm the reader and not the author and I just want to beg the author to continue. Heh, well guess I should probably do that. Anyway! After all of my rambling, I hope you guys will enjoy what more I write of this love story and we will see how the story shall unfold from here. Enjoy~

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April) nor do I own any of the original characters from the anime or manga itself. As they are also mentioned within this chapter, I do not own "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes nor do I own the dating site "Match Me" or the search engine "Google" as they are all borrowed information meant for only the use of this chapter.**

 _~ShortAzn_


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